Clojure in Docker 101

Basic Docker setup for deploying Clojure projects

Create project

Let's create a simple project for demonstration purposes. Here comes the Leiningen you installed earlier.

lein new app clojure-docker-demo

To keep it simple, we’ll make the application print "Hello, Docker!" when run.

(ns clojure-docker-demo.core
  (:gen-class))

(defn -main
  [& _args]
  (println "Hello, Docker!"))

Create Dockerfile

Now that our Clojure project is up and running, it's time to containerize it. Let's create a Dockerfile to wrap our app in Docker goodness.

Next, we'll create a <span style="font-family: courier new">Dockerfile</span> (no extension) in the root of your project and drop this in:

# Use the official Clojure image with Lein pre-installed as the base image
FROM clojure:lein

# Create and set the working directory
RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/app
WORKDIR /usr/src/app

# Copy the project files into the Docker image
COPY . .

# Resolve dependencies
RUN lein deps

# Build the application
RUN lein uberjar

# Set the command to run the application
CMD ["java", "-jar", "target/uberjar/clojure-docker-demo-0.1.0-SNAPSHOT-standalone.jar"]

Let's break this down:

We're starting with the official Clojure image with Leiningen installed already. No need to reinvent the wheel.

WORKDIR /usr/src/app sets up and switches to our working directory in the container.

COPY . . grabs all the files from your project directory and tosses them into the container.

RUN lein deps pulls in all your project dependencies.

RUN lein uberjar builds your application into a standalone JAR file. This is your whole app, dependencies and all, in one neat package.

Finally, we will tell Docker how to run your app using the CMD instructions.

This Dockerfile works, but it's not winning any efficiency awards. We'll optimize it later with multi-stage builds. For now, let's keep it simple. Next up, we'll build this Docker image and take it for a spin!

We have a very small team, and Clojure is the one tool that does it all, both the front-end and back-end.

Kalle Korhonen

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Building the Docker Image

Now that we have our Dockerfile ready let's build the Docker image:

docker build -t clojure-docker-demo .

What's happening here?

docker build tells Docker to construct an image.

-t clojure-docker-demo tags our image with a name (feel free to change it).

The . at the end tells Docker, "Hey, the Dockerfile is in this directory."

Running the Docker Container

With the image built, you can now run your Clojure application in a Docker container:

# --rm flag tells Docker to remove the container after it stops
docker run --rm clojure-docker-demo

If all goes well, you should see our "Hello, Docker!" message pop up. 

Extending Docker setup

While our current setup provides a solid foundation, real-world applications often require more advanced techniques to optimize builds, integrate with databases, and manage multiple services.

Multi-stage builds

Remember how we mentioned Clojure apps can be chunky? By separating the build and runtime environments, multi-stage builds help us slim things down. This is useful for Clojure applications, where you might need to compile your application with Leiningen but only require a JVM to run the compiled JAR file in production. Here's how it goes:

We build the app in one container.

We copy just the essentials to a new, slimmer container.

We toss out the build container. Sayonara, bloat!

Let's revamp our Dockerfile:

# Stage 1: Build the Clojure application
FROM clojure:lein AS builder

WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY . .
RUN lein uberjar

# Stage 2: Run the application in a lightweight environment
FROM openjdk:11-jre-slim

WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/target/uberjar/clojure-docker-demo-0.1.0-SNAPSHOT-standalone.jar .

CMD ["java", "-jar", "clojure-docker-demo-0.1.0-SNAPSHOT-standalone.jar"]

What's new?

We've got two FROM instructions. Each one starts a new build stage.

The first stage (call it builder) does all the heavy lifting: copying files, resolving deps, and building the uberjar.

The second stage starts fresh with just a JRE (no Leiningen, no Clojure compiler, nada).

We copy ONLY the uberjar from the builder stage to our final image.

Integrating with database

Have you seen an app without a database in the wild? We haven't. So, let’s integrate a Clojure application with one inside a Docker container. We’ll use PostgreSQL as an example.

First, we must add the necessary dependencies to <span style="font-family: courier new">project.clj</span>. For example, to connect to PostgreSQL:

:dependencies [[org.clojure/clojure "1.11.1"]
               [org.postgresql/postgresql "42.7.3"]
               [org.clojure/java.jdbc "0.7.12"]]

Let's update core.clj to interact with the PostgreSQL database:

(ns clojure-docker-demo.core
  (:gen-class) 
  (:require [clojure.java.jdbc :as jdbc]))

(def db-spec {:dbtype "postgresql"
              :dbname "mydb"
              :host "db"
              :user "postgres"
              :password "password"})

(defn -main
  [& _args]
  (jdbc/with-db-connection [conn db-spec]
    (println "Connected to the database.")
    (let [result (jdbc/query conn ["SELECT 'hello from db'"])]
      (println "Query result:" result))))

We connect to a PostgreSQL database running in a Docker container. The host is set to db, and the database service's name is defined in our Docker Compose file.

Orchestrating multiple services with Docker Compose

First, we need to create a <span style="font-family: courier new">docker-compose.yml</span> file at the root of our project:

version: '3.9'
services:
  db:
    image: postgres
    # Set shared memory limit when using docker-compose
    shm_size: 128mb
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    depends_on:
      - db

Here, the <span style="font-family: courier new">db</span> part defines the PostgreSQL service, setting necessary environment variables for the database and mapping the database port inside the container to the host. The </SPAN> part defines our Clojure application service and states the dependency on the <span style="font-family: courier new">db</span> service to the <span style="font-family: courier new">app</span> service waiting for the <span style="font-family: courier new">db</span> to be ready.

Now, we can start both the application and the database using <span style="font-family: courier new">docker-compose</span>:

docker-compose up

Docker Compose will automatically build the image for your Clojure application, start the PostgreSQL database, and link the two services together.

Next, we'll talk about separating your development and production setups because, let's face it, what works in dev doesn't always fly in prod.

Separate Development & Production setup

But what if you want to also have a development setup with access to REPL? Docker allows you to set up development and production environments while tailoring each to its specific needs. We can create separate Dockerfiles and different Docker Compose configurations to define the specifics for development and production.

Development setup

For development, we want fast iteration (no rebuilding images for every code change), REPL access (because who doesn't love a good REPL?), and all the debugging tools we can get our greedy hands on. 

Firstly, we'll create a <span style="font-family: courier new">Dockerfile.dev</span> that adds the REPL support.

FROM clojure:lein AS dev

RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/app
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY . .
RUN lein deps

# Expose the REPL port
EXPOSE 7888

# Command to start the REPL
CMD ["lein", "repl", ":headless", ":host", "0.0.0.0", ":port", "7888"]

And a <span style="font-family: courier new">docker-compose.dev.yml</span> that will use it and map our REPL port.

version: '3.9'
services:
  db:
    image: postgres
    # Set shared memory limit when using docker-compose
    shm_size: 128mb
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - "7888:7888"  # REPL port
    depends_on:
      - db

Production setup

We want a slim, efficient image for production. There should be no development tools or source code, and only what's necessary to run the application.

Similarly, create a <span style="font-family: courier new">Dockerfile.prod</span> optimized for production, running only the <span style="font-family: courier new">uberjar</span>.

FROM clojure:lein AS builder
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY . .
RUN lein uberjar

FROM openjdk:11-jre-slim
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/target/uberjar/clojure-docker-demo-0.1.0-SNAPSHOT-standalone.jar .

CMD ["java", "-jar", "clojure-docker-demo-0.1.0-SNAPSHOT-standalone.jar"]
#+end_src

And also docker-compose.prod.yml:
#+begin_src yaml
version: '3.9'
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:13
    # Set shared memory limit when using docker-compose
    shm_size: 128mb
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.prod
    ports:
      - "8080:8080" 
    depends_on:
      - db

You can leverage the overriding mechanism provided by docker-compose to avoid maintaining two separate Docker Compose files. Learn more here.

Running the setup

To use the development setup with REPL, run:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build

This will start the database and the application, exposing the REPL on port 7888. You can now connect to the REPL from your editor and continue with your development.

For production run:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up --build

And there you have it! You're now running a tight ship with separate dev and prod environments. Your local machine stays clean, your production environment stays lean, and you get to feel like a Docker deity. Not bad for a day's work, eh?

Where from here?

You've become the Docker whisperer for Clojure apps. Need to containerize a Clojure project? You got this. Want to ensure consistent environments across your team? Piece of cake. Looking to simplify your deployment process? It's in the bag. So, yeah, where from here?

Get creative with your Docker setups. Maybe add some caching? Or throw in an Nginx reverse proxy?

Explore CI/CD pipelines with your newly Dockerized app. Jenkins, GitLab CI, and GitHub Actions are all itching to build your containers.

Explore other Docker features. Volumes, networks, Swarm mode – the rabbit hole goes deep.

Happy coding, and may your containers always be light and your REPLs always be responsive!